US Democratic lawmakers characterized crypto as an outright “scam” in a Wednesday press conference, pushing for the development and rollout of a central bank digital currency (CBDC).

Representative Maxine Waters called the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act, a bill that would prohibit the creation of a government-controlled digital dollar, the “anti-innovation act.” The anti-CBDC bill and the GENIUS stablecoin bill “endanger our national security,” Waters said.

Representative Stephen Lynch, who also attended press event, said crypto had no legitimate use case:

“As a committee, we’ve learned that there is no legitimate use case for cryptocurrency, as of yet, unless you count the illegal practices of every single ransomware…